By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Brownsville opponents are providing strong volleyball competition for the Port Isabel Lady Tarpons.
Port Isabel fought back from a loss in the first game and won the next three sets to capture a 22-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-20 non-district triumph Tuesday at Pace.
The Lady Tarpons (11-7) were coming off a 25-19, 20-25, 15-12 setback against Hanna in Saturday’s Volley at the Beach championship at Port Isabel.
Lady Tarpons coach Julie Breedlove said she expected a close match from the Lady Vikings, especially since they were playing at home.
“We have to give Pace credit,” she said. “They’re really doing a good job this year. We always come over here expecting a fight, and they gave us one.
“I think we kind of played a little like we did against Hanna,” Breedlove added. “We let our guard down at times, but I was proud of the work our middles did. Our middle players are coming around, and that was really nice to see in this match.”
The first game set the tone for the rest of the match as there were nine ties, the last of which came at 19 before Pace (5-4) tallied six of the next nine points to prevail 25-22, thanks to a pair of unforced errors by the Lady Tarpons.
Although there were some close moments and back-and-forth volleys the rest of the way, it soon became the Lady Tarpons’ match to win as they triumphed 25-20, 25-16 and 25-20 during the next three games.
“I told our girls that I was really happy with the effort they put onto the floor,” Pace coach Gavin Rudder said. “Before the match we said to leave it all on the court, and they did that tonight.
“There were some things that were just out of our hands that the matched turned on, but for the most part I was very happy with the way our girls played tonight,” he added.
Pace was led by Rose Perez with 15 kills and four solo blocks, and Litdzy Cervantes added seven kills and 13 digs. Also for Pace, Jessica Aguilar had 32 assists and 16 digs, Ashlynn Marchan finished with 16 digs and Ebony Casanova contributed 12 digs.
For the Lady Tarpons, Gabby Torres led the way with 17 kills and 32 digs, and fellow standout senior hitter Kelcie Swink tallied 10 kills and 23 digs. Also for the Lady Tarpons, Alex Martinez contributed 49 digs and Larissa Torres had 12 assists.
Port Isabel next plays at home at 11 a.m. Saturday against Harlingen High, while Pace will be playing in a tournament at Sharyland beginning Thursday with pool play against Brownsville Veterans Memorial, Sharyland Pioneer and Edinburg Economedes.